Context-aware smart home energy manager

ABSTRACT

A context-aware smart home energy management (CASHEM) system and method is disclosed. CASHEM dynamically schedules household energy use to reduce energy consumption by identifying contextual information within said household, selecting a comfort of service preference, wherein said comfort of service preference is based on different said contextual information, and extracting an appliance use schedule for maximum energy savings based on said contextual information in light of said comfort of service preferences, by executing a program instruction in a data processing apparatus. CASHEM correlates said contextual information with energy consumption levels to dynamically schedule said appliance based on an energy-saving condition and a user&#39;s comfort. Comfort of service preferences are gathered by CASHEM by monitoring occupant activity levels and use of said appliance. CASHEM can also recommend potential energy savings for a user to modify comfort of service preferences.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application claims the priority and benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application 61/234,947 filed Aug. 18, 2009 entitled“Context-Aware Smart Home Energy Manager” that is herein incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments are generally related to energy management. Embodiments areadditionally related to energy management of household consumerappliances. Embodiments are further related to a control interface forenergy management of household consumer appliances.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Net zero energy (NZE) homes are structures that combinestate-of-the-art, energy-efficient construction techniques andequipment, with renewable energy systems to return as much energy as ituses on an annual basis. To achieve NZE use in a home, a comprehensiveenergy reduction strategy is required, including the use of efficientappliances, renewable energy resources, and efficient home energymanagement capable of adapting to the occupant's lifestyle. Energymanagement concepts and technologies reduce wasteful energy consumption,reduce peak electricity demand, integrate renewable energy and storagetechnology, and change the occupant's behavior for the occupant to learnhow to manage and consume less energy.

A home typically uses unmanaged appliances with minimal planning andinefficient scheduling. It is impossible to formulate a home energy planwithout a holistic view of home occupancy, usage patterns, demand peaks,or weather effects on home energy usage. Further, without dynamic energypricing, current NZE strategies fall short as technology focuses on userawareness of energy consumption, basic demand response (DR), and fixedprogrammable schedules with minimal ability to control and scheduleenergy consumption. Current DR solutions for energy usage range fromsimple pager-based solutions to sophisticated appliances, with littlehomeowner participation or input. Homeowners may try to reduce householdenergy use by turning off the air conditioning during certain parts ofthe day or heating the pool to lower temperatures. This approach,however, does not take into account reducing the energy use of all theappliances and consumer electronics, as a collective system, within ahome. Other apparatuses and techniques exist to facilitate the efficientoperation of the energy consuming devices, including programmableelectronic thermostats and various timers for lighting, water heaters,and pool heaters. But these apparatuses, do not communicate with eachother through a centralized system to efficiently manage energy usewithin a home. Such solutions simply shift energy consumption and do nothelp achieve NZE goals.

A comprehensive home energy use management system is needed tocoordinate efficient and smart appliances, other energy-consumingdevices, and renewable energy resources. This home energy use managementsystem also needs to recognize and adjust energy use to varyingoccupancy levels and conditions within the home. By accommodating to thelifestyle of the occupants, and properly scheduling use of appliances, alarge percentage of energy can be saved. Therefore, a need exists for acontext-aware smart home energy manager (CASHEM) to coordinate andconserve energy use in the home, as will be discussed in greater detailherein.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of someof the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiment and is notintended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the variousaspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained by taking intoconsideration the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstractas a whole.

It is, therefore one aspect of the disclosed embodiment to provide foran improved energy management system and method.

It is another aspect of the disclosed embodiment to provide for animproved energy management system and method for household consumerappliances.

It is a further aspect of the disclosed embodiment to provide for acontrol interface for energy management of household consumerappliances.

The aforementioned aspects and other objectives and advantages can nowbe achieved as described herein. A context-aware smart home energymanagement (CASHEM) system and method is disclosed. “Context-awareness”describes the conditions of energy consumption in the house. CASHEMidentifies contextual information within said household, selects acomfort of service preference based on previously expressed homeownerpreferences, and generates an appliance use schedule for maximum energysavings based on said contextual information in light of said comfort ofservice preferences. It does this by executing a program instruction ina data processing apparatus. Once running, CASHEM continues to monitoractual appliance use and identifies additional opportunities for energysavings that match up with the homeowner's evolving energy use behavior.Part and parcel to this is the use various incentives to motivate energyuse behavior change in the desired direction. An energy manager displaycoordinates and gathers said user preferences to formulate a dynamicenergy-savings plan for a household.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification,further illustrate the invention and, together with the detaileddescription of the invention, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a software system including anoperating system, application software, and a user interface, inaccordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a data-processing system, inaccordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a graphical representation of a computer-implementedcontext-aware smart home energy management system (CASHEM), inaccordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart illustrating the logical operation stepsof CASHEM's operation, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrates graphical representations model of energysavings using CASHEM's dynamic scheduling based on various activities,in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIGS. 5C-5D illustrates graphical representations model of energysavings when using CASHEM's dynamic scheduling techniques to provide auser with a recommended energy savings usage plan, in accordance withthe disclosed embodiments; and

FIGS. 6A-6E illustrate a graphical user interface (GUI) for interactionwith the context-aware smart home energy management system (CASHEM), inaccordance with the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limitingexamples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least oneembodiment and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.

FIGS. 1-2 are provided as exemplary diagrams of data-processingenvironments in which embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented. It should be appreciated that FIGS. 1-2 are only exemplaryand are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard tothe environments in which aspects of embodiments of the disclosedembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer software system 100 for directing theoperation of the data-processing system 200 depicted in FIG. 2. Softwareapplication 104, stored in main memory 202 and on mass storage 207 (asdescribed in FIG. 2), generally includes a kernel or operating system101 and a shell or interface 103. One or more application programs, suchas software application 104, may be “loaded” (i.e., transferred frommass storage 207 into the main memory 202) for execution by thedata-processing system 200. The data-processing system 200 receives usercommands and data through user interface 103; these inputs may then beacted upon by the data-processing system 100 in accordance withinstructions from operating system module 101 and/or softwareapplication 104.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the disclosed embodiments may be implementedin the context of a data-processing system 200 that includes, forexample, a central processor 201, a main memory 202, an input/outputcontroller 203, a keyboard 204, an input device 205 (e.g., a pointingdevice, such as a mouse, track ball, pen device, etc), a display device206, a mass storage 207 (e.g., a hard disk), and a USB (Universal SerialBus) peripheral connection 211. Additional input/output devices, such asa rendering device 208 (e.g., printer, scanner, fax machine, etc), forexample, may be associated with the data-processing system 200 asdesired. As illustrated, the various components of data-processingsystem 200 can communicate electronically through a system bus 210 orsimilar architecture. The system bus 210 may be, for example, asubsystem that transfers data between, for example, computer componentswithin data-processing system 200 or to and from other data-processingdevices, components, computers, etc.

The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of suitable computing environments in which the system andmethod may be implemented. Although not required, the disclosedembodiments will be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a single computer. In most instances, a “module” constitutesa software application.

Generally, program modules include, but are not limited to routines,subroutines, software applications, programs, objects, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types and instructions. Moreover, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the disclosed method and system may be practicedwith other computer system configurations, such as, for example,hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, data networks,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, networkedPCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, servers, and the like.

Note that the term module as utilized herein may refer to a collectionof routines and data structures that perform a particular task orimplements a particular abstract data type. Modules may be composed oftwo parts: an interface, which lists the constants, data types,variable, and routines that can be accessed by other modules orroutines, and an implementation, which is typically private (accessibleonly to that module) and which includes source code that actuallyimplements the routines in the module. The term module may also simplyrefer to an application, such as a computer program designed to assistin the performance of a specific task, such as word processing,accounting, inventory management, etc.

The interface 103 can include, for example, a graphical user interface(GUI) or an interactive speech interface. The interface 103 can serve todisplay results, whereupon a user may supply additional inputs orterminate a particular session. In some embodiments, operating system101 and interface 103 can be implemented in the context of a “Windows”system. It can be appreciated, of course, that other types of systemsare possible. For example, rather than a traditional “Windows” system,other operation systems, such as, for example, Linux may also beemployed with respect to operating system 101 and interface 103. Thesoftware application 104 can include, for example, an energy usedetection and management module 102 for providing a CASHEM. The energyuse detection and management module 102 can include instructions, suchas those of method 300 and 400 discussed herein with respect to FIGS.3-4.

FIGS. 1-2 are thus intended as an example, and not as an architecturallimitation with respect to particular embodiments. Such embodiments,however, are not limited to any particular application or any particularcomputing or data-processing environment. Instead, those skilled in theart will appreciate that the disclosed system and method may beadvantageously applied to a variety of system and application software.Moreover, the present invention may be embodied on a variety ofdifferent computing platforms, including Macintosh, UNIX, LINUX, a realtime OS/kernel and the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates a graphical representation of a computer-implementedcontext-aware smart home energy manager (CASHEM) 310, in accordance withthe disclosed embodiments. CASHEM recognizes and adjusts to differentconditions around, and within, a house 320, 340, 350, 360 to minimizetotal energy consumption. Note that in FIGS. 1-9 identical parts orelements are generally indicated by identical reference numerals. Thedisclosed embodiments take advantage of dynamically planning, schedulingand programming the different appliances of the house based on thesedifferent conditions and the expressed user preferences within thedifferent conditions. The term “appliance” refers to any device in thehome that consumes, stores or produces energy. Depending on the varyingconditions 320, a home's appliances 350, 360 can operate at lower orhigher energy consumption levels based on the comfort or conveniencelevel demanded by the occupant. Adaptation of the appliance coordinationsystem can be supported based on monitoring and analysis of occupant'sactivity and the use of the appliances. The appliance tasks can also beshifted at some time in the future to consume less energy based on theforecasted weather condition 321. CASHEM 310 is designed to work withexisting homes and appliances, and grow its capabilities as smartappliances and other components are added to the home. CASHEM 310 can bethe hub for communicating with appliances 350, 360 and use informationfrom different operational, environmental, and energy supply typeparameters. As context sensors become available, CASHEM 310 can use thesensors for enhanced energy management.

CASHEM 310 integrates renewable energy sources into the home and reducesoverall energy consumption. By increasing the focus on systems design,integration, and control, CASHEM 310 serves as a central point tocollect information from all available sources and build the big picturenecessary to manage energy consumption. To build the big picture of ahome's energy usage 300, the computer-implemented home network 330connects a home's energy-use contexts 320, a home's energy managerdisplays 340, and a home's appliances, including both 24/7-typeappliances 350 and on-demand appliances 360. The home energy manager 310connects to a home's energy meter 329 to collect electricity useinformation.

“Context-awareness” describes the conditions of energy consumption inthe house. CASHEM's 310 objective is to identify the current contextualstate 320, 340 350, 360, note the user preference associated with thatcurrent state, and then configure a context-driven, appliance-use,convenience, or comfort, of service (CoS) model. The CoS modelcorrelates the different contexts with energy consumption levels, anddynamically schedules the appliances 350, 360 under the statedconditions, based on efficient energy consumption and occupancy comfort.The type and amount of CoS deviation can vary between differenthomeowners with homeowners submitting CoS preferences at systemconfiguration time. CASHEM 310 reduces energy consumption while keepingthe user comfortable by adapting its recommendations to the occupant'sexpressed CoS preferences. The system 310 can also monitor and analyzeenergy consumption, recommend further energy saving actions, andengage/motivate the homeowner to adopt those recommendations.

Contexts 320 that the system 300 gathers to formulate CoS preferencesinclude, but are not limited to: weather conditions 321, both currentand forecasted; occupancy and occupancy activity information 322;security system information 323; utility information 324; renewableenergy-use information 325; energy storage information 326; and plug-inhybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) information 327. CASHEM 310 integrateson-site energy generation and renewable energy sources 325. Withcontext-aware characteristics, CASHEM 310 can coordinate use of wind andsolar energy with charging a hybrid electric vehicle to minimize energyconsumption and reduce carbon footprints. Combined heat and power isbecoming practical in some northern climates, while photovoltaic panelsare becoming cost-effective in the southwest. Energy storage,particularly in the form of plug in hybrid electric vehicles, is alsomaking its way into homes.

CASHEM 310 coordinates energy manager displays 340 when gathering ahome's context information 320 to appropriately adjust energyconsumption. Energy manager displays include, but are not limited to: InHome Displays 341; computing device 342, mobile communications devices,such as a Smartphone 343, a computing device 345B connected to theInternet 345A, HVAC controls 346 for cooling 351 and heating devices352.

An energy efficient home can have smart appliances capable of one ortwo-way communication with CASHEM 310. The central communications anddata integration allows the home to be treated as a system 300 asopposed to a collection of independent, non-communicating appliances.CASHEM 310 can coordinate different types of appliances, including both24/7-type appliances 350 and on-demand appliances. 24/7-type appliancesinclude those appliances used nearly twenty-four hours of a day, forseven days a week. These include cooling 351 and heating 352 units,water heaters 353, pool pumps and heaters 354, refrigerators andfreezers 361. On-demand appliances 360 include those appliances usedless frequently than 24/7-type appliances 350. On-demand appliancesinclude, but are not limited to: dishwashers 362, lighting 363, consumerelectronics, such as entertainment devices 364, appliances that run offof wireless controlled outlets 365, including stereos 365A, computingdevices 365B, and televisions 365C. CASHEM can integrate other similarsensors and systems when additional appliances are used in the home,such as security systems, smoke detectors, HVAC, structured wiring,energy management, and video, to provide one integrated system.

CASHEM 310 alerts users to pending problems through the home's IPnetwork 330. Condition-based monitoring (CBM) techniques can be scaleddown and integrated in CASHEM 310. Alerts to the homeowner throughvarious energy manager displays 340 can be as simple as, for example,“The furnace has run 265 hours since the filter was changed.” CASHEM canuse abnormal vibration detection to identify potential problems in HVACsystems. CASHEM enables two-way communication with the electrical grid324 to obtain real-time pricing and demand response events via an openautomated demand response (OpenADR) server or other mechanism thatcomplies with National Institute of Standards and Technology standards.

By adjusting to the occupant's preferences and behaviors under differentactivity or occupancy conditions of the house, appliance energyconsumption is reduced while keeping the occupants satisfied with adesirable CoS for each appliance under the different conditions. Thecapabilities of the system 300 shown in FIG. 3 are best describedthrough a series of non-limiting CASHEM 310 use cases, as follows:

Example 1

Sleep mode activation: The homeowner goes to bed early 322. CASHEM 310is notified by the security system 323, which triggers the HVAC system346 to go into “Sleep” mode. CASHEM 310 also enables the dishwasher 362and dryer to complete their pending cycles. The water heater's 353settings are changed to reflect reduced energy consumption 329. Theentertainment devices 364 and lighting 363 are scheduled turn off toreduce or eliminate energy consumption 329.

Example 2

Vacation scheduling: Before leaving on vacation 322, the homeownernotifies CASHEM 310. The online calendar indicates that the homeownercan be away for a week 322. CASHEM 310 transmits requests to allappliances 350, 360 to either shutdown or switch to vacation mode. Otherappliances 350, 360 may be shut down or switched to vacation modeincluding: managing the HVAC system 346, setting the water heater 353and refrigerator 361 to power saving modes, turning the entertainmentsystem 364 off, lowering the set point on the pool heater and pump 354and turning off lighting 363, as appropriate. Later in the week, CASHEM310 is notified of the Homeowner's impending return 322 through an SMStext message on a Smartphone 343, or an e-mail or Tweet™ on a computerdevice connected to the internet 345 b. In response, CASHEM 310 preparesthe home for a homeowner's arrival.

Example 3

Convenience of Service: CASHEM 310 is aware of the homeowner's CoSrequirements. The homeowner prioritized on the side of energyconservation. During the cooling season 321, CASHEM 310 looks foropportunities to bring in outside air 325 whenever feasible instead ofrunning the air conditioner 351 even though this can affect humiditylevels in the home.

Example 4

Adaptation of Schedule for 24/7 Appliances 350: CASHEM 310 noted thatthe homeowner's schedule has changed 322 due to seasonal factors. CASHEM310 determines a new energy-usage schedule that better reflects theenergy usage of the home 322 and presents it to the homeowner. With thehomeowner's concurrence, the new schedule is put into trial service.Later the new schedule is accepted as a permanent energy usage schedule.

Example 5

Adaptation for On-Demand Appliances 360: CASHEM 310 has identified thatthe dishwasher 362 is generally run after dinner 322 with high CoSsettings. Given time-of-use pricing and the desire of the Homeowner toconserve energy 329, CASHEM 310 recommends using the dishwasher's 362delay feature to start washing after the lower prices set in. It alsosuggests using air drying mode, since the clean dishes are not neededuntil the morning.

Example 6

Predictive Load Management: It is Friday and the weather 321 is expectedto be unusually hot. The utilities 324 issued a peak pricing alert forthe afternoon, but the homeowner generally works from home 322 onFridays. CASHEM 310 anticipates cooling needs and pre-cools 351 thehouse during the morning hours on Friday to reduce the load during peakhours, and raises the set point of the HVAC system 346.

Example 7

Demand response and dynamic pricing: CASHEM 310 is notified that peakpricing can be in effect and responds by taking actions pre-approved bythe homeowner to reduce demand on the utilities 324. Typical responsesmight include reducing set points of HVAC 346, water heater 353, poolpump and heater 354, and delaying the start of energy consumingappliances 350, 360 such as dishwashers 362 and dryers. Depending on thecriticality of the pricing request and the CoS settings, moreconservative actions can be taken.

Example 8

Renewable energy management: The home is equipped with a small windturbine 325 and battery storage 326. During the cooling season, the windforecast 321 indicates significant generation potential overnight.Knowing the off-peak utility pricing and the health and capacity of thebattery 326, CASHEM 310 decides to first charge the battery 326 thenuses the excess energy to pre-cool in anticipation of a hot summer day.

Illustrated in FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the logical operationsteps of CASHEM's 310 operation, in accordance with the disclosedembodiments. As illustrated in block 401, the CASHEM process isinitiated. CASHEM 310 first identifies contextual information thataffects the CoS of home appliances, as illustrated in block 402. Asillustrated in block 403, the user selects CoS preferences on thecomputer-human graphical user interface 103 (GUI), as shown in FIG. 1.The GUI is provided to display and capture the occupant's applianceoperation preferences and convenience constraints. Next, the appliancesare configured for the different home conditions using a selected CoSpreference, as illustrated in block 404. CASHEM 310 then extracts anappliance use schedule to run the appliances at an efficient rate toguide the occupant to either test or comply with further energy savingopportunities, as illustrated in block 405. Through data monitoring, thesystem can analyze energy consumption under different conditions andrecommend to the user further energy saving opportunities, asillustrated in block 406. The CASHEM controller continues to process andidentify contextual information and configure appliances, even when theuser has not provided new CoS preferences, as illustrated in block 407.

CASHEM 310 first identifies contextual information that affects the CoSof home appliances, as illustrated in block 402. Context describes asetting or a situation that impacts the energy consumption of anappliance. Awareness of the context with respect to the occupant or thehome environment is used to significantly reduce energy consumptionwithout compromising the occupant's comfort and convenience. Recognizingdifferent types of contexts can dictate development of efficient modesof operations for home appliances. Three main types of contextinformation exist as a function of time that potentially affect energyconsumption, as follows:

Operational conditions: These are mainly driven by the user's occupancyand can be summarized by short and long term schedule. According to theuser schedule, different user modes can be identified as a function oftime. For example, these user modes include In, Vacation, At the Office,Sleeping, Party, etc.

Environmental conditions: This context type is typically related to thecurrent and predicted weather conditions around the house. If thecurrent and forecasted weather are known, some appliance systems, suchas HVAC, can potentially utilize efficient operational strategies. Also,weather information such as sunny or windy conditions can affect therenewable energy supply use in the home.

Energy supply type and/or cost conditions: This information is importantfor the integration and management of renewable sources. It is relatedto the reliability of the current and predicted energy supply from theavailable sources of energy. It also includes the different utilitysignals including at least one of the following signals: demand response(DR), real-time-pricing (RTP) information, time-of-use (TOU) tariff.

As illustrated in block 403, the user selects CoS preferences. Theprimary objective of CASHEM is to reduce the total energy consumptionaround the house by providing an integrated and optimal schedule thatreflects the CoS for each appliance at different times of the day. Thegathered context information helps develop a specific CoS level for aparticular home. The CoS settings are driven by the variations incontext types. Based on the homeowner preferences and convenienceconstraints under different conditions or context information of thehouse, CASHEM knows and recommends the best way of operating the homeappliances and renewable resources while meeting the requestedconvenience constraint.

A CoS for renewable resources can also be defined according to theestimated supply and related uncertainty level of the supplied energy. ACoS metric is then applied to the different appliances. The CoS level isrelated to the time it takes to finish a job, or the thermal comfort inan environment. The CoS is typically correlated to the amount of energyconsumed. Based on the condition driven by the context, the user canconfigure the CoS of an appliance for that particular condition. The CoScan also provide a range base control versus set point control toprovide the occupant with a choice between comfort vs. energyconservation. For example, when the occupant is “IN”, the CoS is 76+/−2degrees F.; when the occupant is “ON VACATION”, the CoS is 62+/−4degrees F.; and, when the occupant is in the office, the CoS is 70+/−4degrees F. The temperature range points are mapped to a CoS metric. Theuser can change these CoS values under different supply type modes, suchas DR mode from utilities, solar supply, or wind supply.

Once a CoS level is developed, a home's appliances are configured, asillustrated in block 404. The initial operational context extractionrelated to homeowner activity or schedule can be implemented usingprogrammable thermostats. Two approaches are typically used to assesscontext information: direct sensing measurements and indirect, inferredby integrating information from multiple sensors. The static schedulecan be enhanced by making use of more accurate context extraction thatis related to the user's activity. Home appliances are first categorizedunder two distinct categories, either as on-demand or 24/7 appliances,before developing a CoS level, as follows:

On demand (OD) appliances are activated randomly, or scheduled byexternal trigger. OD appliances include clothes washers and dryers,dishwashers, televisions, lighting, etc. These systems generally havediscrete modes of operation. For on-demand appliances, the task is tocorrelate the convenience constraints, typically time range of use, tothe energy consumption for the discrete modes of operation. In general,the goal for the OD appliances is to move to a lower CoS for the givencondition, or move the task to a different time of the day. For example,CASHEM can recommend washing dishes in three hours instead of two whenthe user is IN, or move the task to “SLEEP” time and wash the dishes in5 hours.

For 24/7 appliances, the energy savings can be achieved by recommendinga lower CoS for a given condition or reducing the time of the highestquality conditions. For example, a user could either lower the heatingset point from 72 to 68 deg F. for “IN” or shrink the “IN” time to 7hours instead of 8 hours based on occupancy data. 24/7 appliancesgenerally have continuous modes of operation, such as controlling to aset point. These appliances also have transitional modes of operationsthat move from one set point to another, such as pre-heating orpre-cooling modes. 24/7 appliances include equipments such as HVACsystems, water heaters, pool heaters and pool pumps. The task for the24/7 appliances can be similar to the on-demand appliances. Weatherconditions, however, can affect the relationship and need to be includedin the assignment of a CoS analysis. For example, to maintain 76 degreesF. for cooling conditions, ventilation can be provided if the outdoortemperature is low. An example of CoS for heating and cooling is acomfort index that can be calculated based on temperature or morebroadly based on a predicted mean vote (PMV) (**) index that is based onactual temperature, humidity, wind velocity, user activity and clothing.Some of these parameters can be configured or estimated seasonally. Theuser can indicate his or her tolerance of comfort range based onactivity, weather, and energy supply type.

As illustrated in block 405, CASHEM then extracts an appliance useschedule. Under a given CoS, CASHEM can then select the best mode for aparticular appliance in each category and estimate the energy consumedunder a given CoS. A static schedule is developed first. Typically, thestatic schedule during the initial setup results in adherence to CoSpreferences and lower energy savings. CASHEM can also evaluate the costof energy and recommend a more efficient schedule based on energy costwhile maintaining homeowner satisfaction. In other cases, the schedulecan deviate enough that the unhappy user can turn off the schedulingmode. CASHEM can reduce peaks using a combination of range base controland load shifting via predicted scheduling. When a demand peak issignaled, CASHEM can automatically shed loads based on information fromthe homeowner. CASHEM can supervise and properly schedule all theappliances during demand response by multiple set point strategy forexample, delaying running the dehumidifier until well after the peakload. For additional energy savings, CASHEM can respond to non-scheduledevents requested by the user.

As illustrated in block 406, CASHEM provides the user with recommendedenergy-saving opportunities based on the data collected anduser-inputted CoS preferences. CASHEM provides recommendation to theuser to educate the user on current energy savings and futuremodifications to CoS preferences to further increase energy savings. Theprocess ends, as illustrated in block 407.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate graphical representations of energy savings usingCASHEM's dynamic scheduling based on various activities 511. Forexample, FIG. 5A illustrates energy savings when using CASHEM 510 basedon user's activity levels 511. CoS preferences for different activitylevels 511 are used to program 501 the energy-use levels of variousappliances over a twenty-four hour period. A user programs 501 energyuse levels for “Sleep” modes 512, “In” modes 513, an “Away” mode 514,and a “Swim” mode 515, for example. CASHEM dynamically schedules actualenergy use 502 based on these CoS preferences for particular activities511, but also incorporates energy saving techniques discussed herein.Therefore, CASHEM lowers actual energy use 502 for all scheduled modes512-515, as illustrated in FIG. 5B. During sleep modes 512, energy useis lower than energy use during “In” 513 and “Swim” 515 modes. CASHEM'sdynamical scheduling for lower energy use results in energy savings 522especially during modes of higher energy use.

FIGS. 5C-5D illustrate graphical representations of energy savings whenusing CASHEM's dynamic scheduling techniques to provide a user with arecommended 503 energy savings usage plan. For example, in FIG. 5B,CASHEM 520 uses HVAC set points 521 to dynamically schedule for DR andactivity 522. CASHEM's recommended 503 energy use levels are lower thanprogrammed energy use levels 501. Similarly in FIG. 5C, CASHEM 530 usespool set points 531 to dynamically schedule for cost and activity 532.CASHEM's recommended 503 energy use levels are lower than programmedenergy levels 501, as well.

CoS preferences and CASHEM options are programmed using a graphical userinterface (GUI), as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6E. FIG. 6A illustrates aGUI 610-650 for display of CASHEM options, in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments. Note that the GUI 610, 620, 630, 640, and/or 650can be implemented utilizing a GUI such as, for example, the interface103 depicted in FIG. 1 herein, and may be provided by a module, such as,for example, module 102 (i.e., a software application). GUI 610, 620,630, 640, and/or 650 can be displayed via a display device such as amonitor 206 depicted in FIG. 2. In the illustrated figures herein, thedepicted GUI can be implemented in the context of a GUI “window”. Notethat in computing, a GUI window is generally a visual area containingsome type of user interface (e.g., GUI 103). Such a “window” usually(but not always) possesses a rectangular shape, and displays the outputof and may allow input to one or more processes. Such windows areprimarily associated with graphical displays, where they can bemanipulated with a mouse cursor, such as, for example, the pointingdevice 205 depicted in FIG. 2. The user may use a mouse, joystick, lightpen, roller-ball, keyboard, finger or other peripheral devices formanipulating the pointing device 205 over the GUI 610. For example,CASHEM options directly on the GUI 610. A GUI using windows as one ofits main “metaphors” is often referred to as a windowing system.

The GUI 610-650 may include one or more active windows or panes. In oneimplementation, four primary panes may be provided, including a CASHEMquery pane 601, a query response selection pane 602, a “Back” pane 603to skip back to the previous GUI display window, and a “Next” pane 604to move forward to the next GUI display window. These will be discussedin more detail below. Other windows and panes may similarly be provided.Various mechanisms for minimizing, maximizing, moving, and/or changingthe dimensions or the individual panes, may be provided as typicallyfound in a windows environment.

The disclosed GUI 610-650 uses a simple question and answer paradigm toaccount for wide variations in occupants' perception, definitions, andtolerance of different comfort levels. Therefore, one of the keys toacceptance and compliance with CASHEM's energy-saving recommendations isto tailor the energy tradeoffs to individual homeowners. CASHEMinitially extracts schedules for every appliance and the related CoSrange from the homeowner in a series of interview questions presented onthe GUI 610-650. Thus, the homeowner does not need to be a programmer toimplement an energy-savings plan. With the success of the system ridingon the computer-human interaction, a homeowner interface to CASHEMengages individual homeowners to indicate their own personal constraintsfor comfort and convenience, provides a simple paradigm for homeownersto review and understand energy management recommendations made by thesystem, and communicates the value of these recommendations, therebymotivating the homeowner to comply. Improper use of programmable GUI'scan reduce or completely eliminate energy savings, so occupants needeasy to use, innovative GUI designs for programmable thermostats, forexample, to ensure energy savings.

CASHEM poses queries 611-651 to users and considers all query responses612-652 to formulate energy use schedules and recommendations for everyappliance. For example, in FIG. 6A, GUI 610 displays a query 611 askingthe user, “When do you prefer to run your dishwasher?” The user canselect a query response 612 indicating the preferred time, or select the“Back” pane 613 to skip back to the previous query. When the user makesa selection from the query response pane 612, or selects the “Next” pane614 to skip this pane, the GUI 620 display appears as illustrated inFIG. 6B. The next query 621 displayed in GUI 620 asks the user, “When doyou prefer to use the heat dry feature?” The user can select a queryresponse 622 indicating the preferred time, or select the “Back” pane623 to skip back to the previous query. When the user makes a selectionfrom the query response pane 622, or selects the “Next” pane 624, theGUI 630 display appears as illustrated in FIG. 6C. The next query 631displayed in GUI 630 asks the user, “In running your dishwasher, howquickly do you prefer to finish the job?” The user can select a queryresponse 632 indicating the preferred selection, or select the “Back”pane 633 to skip back to the previous query. When the user makes aselection from the query response pane 632, or selects the “Next” pane634, the GUI 640 display appears as illustrated in FIG. 6D. The nextquery 641 displayed in GUI 640 asks the user, “When do you like to runit fast?” The user can select a query response 642 indicating thepreferred selection, or select the “Back” pane 643 to skip back to theprevious query. When the user makes a selection from the query responsepane 642, or selects the “Next” pane 644, the GUI 650 display appears asillustrated in FIG. 6E. The next query 651 displayed in GUI 650 asks theuser, “When do you like to run it slowly?” The user can either select aquery response 652 indicating the preferred selection, select the “Back”pane 653 to skip back to the previous query, or select the “Next” pane654, for any further queries related to this appliance. This questionand answer process continues for CASHEM to gather enough CoS preferencesand context information to formulate a comprehensive energy-savingsschedule for all appliances within a home.

It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirablycombined into many other different systems or applications. Also thatvarious presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art which are also intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

1. A method for dynamically scheduling household energy use that reduceswasteful energy consumption, reduces peak electricity demand, integratesrenewable energy and storage technology, and changes a user's behaviorto manage and consume less energy, said method comprising: identifyingcontextual information within said household, by executing a programinstruction in a data processing apparatus; identifying a userpreference for comfort and service within said household, by executing aprogram that allows said user to indicate said user preference;selecting a comfort of service preference, wherein said comfort ofservice preference is based on different said contextual information andsaid user preference, by executing a program instruction in a dataprocessing apparatus; and extracting an appliance use schedule formaximum energy savings based on said contextual information, said userpreference, and said comfort of service preference, by executing aprogram instruction in a data processing apparatus.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising extracting a schedule for using renewableenergy sources and storage batteries within said household, wherein saidextracted schedule reflects said contextual information about demandresponse, by executing a program instruction in a data processingapparatus.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: monitoringongoing appliance use to infer compliance with said appliance useschedule, by executing a program instruction in a data processingapparatus; and dynamically modifying said appliance use scheduleaccording to monitored contextual information and said user's evolvingenergy use behavior, by executing a program instruction in a dataprocessing apparatus.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprisingcorrelating said contextual information with energy consumption levelsto dynamically schedule said appliance based on an energy-savingcondition and a user's comfort, by executing a program instruction in adata processing apparatus.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprisingcoordinating an energy manager to perform at least one of the followingoperations: gathering contextual information related to environmentalconditions; gathering energy supply type conditions; gathering costconditions; selecting a comfort of service preference; and configuringan appliance use schedule.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said energymanager comprises a graphical user interface and data processingapparatus, wherein said graphical user interface is configured for atleast one of the following operations: gathering said contextualinformation related to user activity and a daily schedule; gatheringinformation about user comfort and service preferences; displayingenergy use feedback to said user; displaying energy saving opportunitiesin compliance with said user's evolving behavior; recommending use ofrenewable energy source and stored energy within said household; anddisplaying incentive or motivational information to said user based onobserved energy use behavior and adaptive to said user's energy usepattern.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising monitoring saidhousehold's occupant activity levels and use of said appliance forconfiguring said appliance use schedule, by executing a programinstruction in a data processing apparatus.
 8. The method of claim 1wherein said contextual information either entered by said user or via anetworked device includes at least one of the following: current weatherinformation; forecast weather information; security system information;utility information; renewable energy-use information; energy storageinformation; energy supply type; and utility signals including at leastone of the following types of signals: demand response (DR),real-time-pricing (RTP) information, time-of-use (TOU) tariff.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising operating said appliance accordingto said appliance use schedule at a recommended level equal to a comfortof service preference for maximum energy savings, by executing a programinstruction in a data processing apparatus.
 10. A system for dynamicallyscheduling household energy use that reduces wasteful energyconsumption, reduces peak electricity demand, integrates renewableenergy and storage technology, and changes a user's behavior to manageand consume less energy, said system comprising: a data-processingapparatus; a module executed by said data-processing apparatus, saidmodule and said data-processing apparatus being operable in combinationwith one another to: identifying contextual information within saidhousehold, by executing a program instruction in a data processingapparatus; identifying a user preference for comfort and service withinsaid household, by executing a program that allows said user to indicatesaid user preference; selecting a comfort of service preference, whereinsaid comfort of service preference is based on different said contextualinformation and said user preference, by executing a program instructionin a data processing apparatus; and extracting an appliance use schedulefor maximum energy savings based on said contextual information, saiduser preference, and said comfort of service preference, by executing aprogram instruction in a data processing apparatus.
 11. The system ofclaim 10 wherein said module and said data-processing apparatus arefurther operable in combination with one another to extract a schedulefor using renewable energy sources and storage batteries in saidhousehold, wherein said extracted schedule reflects said contextualinformation about demand response, by executing a program instruction ina data processing apparatus.
 12. The system of claim 10 wherein saidmodule and said data-processing apparatus are further operable incombination with one another to: monitor ongoing appliance use to infercompliance with said appliance use schedule, by executing a programinstruction in a data processing apparatus; and dynamically modify saidappliance use schedule according to monitored contextual information andsaid user's evolving energy use behavior, by executing a programinstruction in a data processing apparatus.
 13. The system of claim 10wherein said module and said data-processing apparatus are furtheroperable in combination with one another to correlate said contextualinformation with energy consumption levels to dynamically schedule saidappliance based on an energy-saving condition and a user's comfort, byexecuting a program instruction in a data processing apparatus.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10 wherein said module and said data-processingapparatus are further operable in combination with one another tocoordinate an energy manager to perform at least one of the followingoperations: gather contextual information related to environmentalconditions; gather energy supply type conditions; gather costconditions; select a comfort of service preference; and configure anappliance use schedule.
 15. The system of claim 14 wherein said energymanager comprises a graphical user interface and data processingapparatus, wherein said module, said data-processing apparatus, and saidgraphical user interface are further operable in combination with oneanother to: collect said contextual information related to user activityand a daily schedule; collect information about user comfort and servicepreferences; display energy use feedback to said user; display energysaving opportunities in compliance with said user's evolving behavior;recommend use of renewable energy source and stored energy within saidhousehold; and display incentive or motivational information to saiduser based on observed energy use behavior and adaptive to said user'senergy use pattern.
 16. The system of claim 12 wherein said module andsaid data-processing apparatus are further operable in combination withone another to monitor said household's occupant activity levels and useof said appliance to configure said appliance use schedule, by executinga program instruction in a data processing apparatus.
 17. The system ofclaim 12 wherein said contextual information either entered by said useror via a networked device includes at least one of the following:current weather information; forecast weather information; securitysystem information; utility information; renewable energy-useinformation; energy storage information; energy supply type; and utilitysignals including at least one of the following types of signals: demandresponse (DR), real-time-pricing (RTP) information, time-of-use (TOU)tariff.
 18. The system of claim 12 wherein said module and saiddata-processing apparatus are further operable in combination with oneanother to operate said appliance according to said appliance useschedule at a recommended level equal to a comfort of service preferencefor maximum energy savings, by executing a program instruction in a dataprocessing apparatus.
 19. An apparatus comprising one or more processorreadable storage devices having processor readable code on saidprocessor readable storage devices, said processor readable code forprogramming one or more processor to perform a method for dynamicallyscheduling household energy use that reduces wasteful energyconsumption, reduces peak electricity demand, integrates renewableenergy and storage technology, and changes homeowner behavior to manageand consume less energy, comprising: identifying contextual informationwithin said household, by executing a program instruction in a dataprocessing apparatus; identifying a user preference for comfort andservice within said household, by executing a program that allows saiduser to indicate said user preference; selecting a comfort of servicepreference, wherein said comfort of service preference is based ondifferent said contextual information and said user preference, byexecuting a program instruction in a data processing apparatus; andextracting an appliance use schedule for maximum energy savings based onsaid contextual information, said user preference, and said comfort ofservice preference, by executing a program instruction in a dataprocessing apparatus.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:a sensor to detect contextual information; a network; and an energymanager coupled to said network comprising said sensor for detectingcontext information, a display, said data processing apparatus, and aset of instructions for dynamically scheduling household energy use thatreduces wasteful energy consumption, reduces peak electricity demand,integrates renewable energy and storage technology, and changeshomeowner behavior to manage and consume less energy.